William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie

The Viscount Pirrie
Lord Lieutenant of Belfast
In office
1911–1924
Preceded byThe Earl of Shaftesbury
Succeeded bySir Thomas Dixon
Lord Mayor of Belfast
In office
1896–1898
Preceded byWilliam McCammond
Succeeded byJames Henderson
Senator
In office
1921–1924
Personal details
Born31 May 1847
Quebec City, Canada East, Province of Canada
Died7 June 1924(1924-06-07) (aged 77)
At sea off Cuba
NationalityBritish
SpouseMargaret Montgomery Pirrie (m. 1879-1924)
OccupationShipbuilder, businessman
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William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, KP, PC, PC (Ire) (31 May 1847 – 7 June 1924)[1] was a leading British shipbuilder and businessman. He was chairman of Harland & Wolff, shipbuilders, between 1895 and 1924, and also served as Lord Mayor of Belfast between 1896 and 1898. He was ennobled as Baron Pirrie in 1906, appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick in 1908 and made Viscount Pirrie in 1921. In the months leading up to the 1912 Sinking of the Titanic, Lord Pirrie was questioned about the number of life boats aboard the Olympic-class ocean liners. He responded that the great ships were unsinkable and the rafts were to save others. This would haunt him forever. In Belfast he was, on other grounds, already a controversial figure: a Protestant employer associated as a leading Liberal with a policy of Home Rule for Ireland.

Bust of Lord Pirrie in the grounds of Belfast City Hall.
  1. ^ "William James Pirrie, Viscount Pirrie". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Edinburgh. Retrieved 14 April 2021.